I absolutely love Chinese food! Unfortunately for us, since we’ve moved, I haven’t found a really good Chinese take out place that is close by. So we’ve been cooking it at home! If you want to know the truth, I like this even better! Not only does our house smell amazing, but there are plenty of leftovers. To be honest, sometimes next day Chinese food is even better! :)

Here are 18 Chinese recipes for your favorite take out dishes that you can make at home! I’ll have to make a batch of our baked egg rolls and add them to the list! They are a family favorite!

I found Rasa Malaysia a while ago while looking for recipes. Her food is fantastic and her photos are droll worthy! I haven’t made her Sesame Chicken recipe yet (it’s on our menu though for January!), but I have never tried a recipe from this website that wasn’t amazing!

Potstickers are one of our favorites! I haven’t made them at home yet, but I’m excited to try! They are one of the things we’ve been missing and the frozen ones just aren’t the same. Find this potstickers recipe from another favorite blog: Damn Delicious!

Remember when I said I’m a bit obsessed with Rasa Malaysia? Here is another recipe from her: Crab Ragoon! Simply perfect!!

When I was little, my dad would take us to the most wonderful Chinese restaurant on the weekends. When we would leave, they would always give me a big bag of almond cookies to take home. I don’t know why, but I have never thought about making a batch at home! Well, until now!

In college I was a waitress at PF Chang’s. I ate Chinese food everyday for two years. Even now, some days, I’m just craving some Chang’s. :) This PF Chang’s Honey Chicken copy cat recipe will be made…ASAP!

We love to make shrimp at home. They are so quick to cook which makes them perfect for a weeknight dinner! This Chinese Garlic Shrimp recipe sounds fantastic!

This General Tso’s Chicken has gotten a little bit of a makeover here! It’s baked and there is a special ingredient that gets it nice and crispy! Actually, I’ve made ‘fried’ baked chicken and crispy shrimp with this same ingredient and it is so good!!

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. We love coming up with fun costumes and dressing up. We take our pumpkin carving very seriously. And the whole house is decorated. So why would we not have a fun themed dinner? These mummy meatballs completely made my son’s night when I served them up. In fact, he’s requested them several times since! I’m more than happy to oblige since they are SOsimple. This Halloween dinner idea is a winner!

Because these are so simple and you can make a big batch at a time, they also make the perfect party food. Not to mention, they are so fun!

Dunk your mummy in a side of marinara sauce (or brains as my son so elegantly put it!) and dinner is served. Yum, yum, yum!

I’m just going to put it out there. I’m no good at diets. I can eat my veggies (I love veggies.) I can eat my fruit (I love fruit.) I can give up red meat.

But if you put some pasta, some comfort food, something sweet or well, let’s be honest, anything else in front of me and I’m going to want some of that too!

I just love food. So the only solution that I’ve been able to think of is to make my favorite foods myself. That way I can control what goes in and I can make healthier swaps. That way I can eat what I want and feel good about it!

These Mozzarella Sticks are a perfect example! These are baked and not fried making them healthier than your traditional appetizers you may get. Not to mention – they are super easy. Make a large batch and put them in your freezer. Then you are able to grab as many as you need, when you need them.

Baked and not fried (and no butter!), these homemade mozzarella sticks are easy and a healthier version of your restaurant favorite appetizer! Make a large batch - these are great for freezing for later!

Ingredients

12 sticks of string cheese in your choice of cheese – I used mozzarella

1 egg

2 tbsp of flour

5 tbsp of bread crumbs

2 tbsp of Parmesan cheese

A tad of olive oil, or cooking spray

Instructions

Cut the cheese sticks in half, making 24 slices, then freeze the slices in the freezer until completely frozen.

Beat the egg in a small bowl. Use a separate bowl to combine the bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese.

To bread the cheese sticks: First dip the frozen cheese stick into the flour, then into the egg, then into the bread crumb mixture.

Once all of the cheese sticks are coated, place them on a baking sheet covered with aluminum foil coated with a few drops of olive oil or sprayed with cooking spray (this helps keep them from sticking)

Bake in the oven at 400 degrees for about 4 minutes, or until crisp. Watch them closely so they don’t melt completely!

Summer time is HERE! We have been counting down the days until summer vacation for a while around here and now that it is…..we plan on fully enjoying it! Trips to the pool, farmer’s markets, summer vacations, and lazy days are all in our summer forecast. We want to enjoy these few months and make sure that each day feels like summer.

Right down to the food we are eating.

Luckily, there are so many recipes that taste like summer. Here are over 40 of our favorite summertime recipes.

Looking for more fun summer recipes?

What we love about summer cooking:

“We LOVE summertime at our house. We do a lot of outdoor entertaining in our backyard which means grilling, cool treats and lots of laughter with friends. Both Mike and I love to experiment with new recipes and flavor combinations, especially during the warm summer months.”

“We have a pretty big extended family and we have a ton of get togethers in the summertime. Lots of birthdays, and then of course there’s Father’s Day and the 4th of July. Always entertaining, playing games, swimming and eating good food! Summertime food for me means quick and easy (usually involving the grill!)”

“Summer for me is all about easy and fresh food. And also, if we can keep the oven turned off that’s an added bonus! So our slow cooker goes into overdrive. A typical summer meal might be some BBQ, corn on the cob (I do live in Indiana after all), fruit salad and some ice cream!”

Amanda is the mom to Joshua and owns It’s a Fabulous Life. If you are looking for a one stop place for all things mom, It’s a Fabulous Life is it! Full of recipes, fashion, DIY projects, recipes and parenting articles it’s the place for all of Mom’s favorites to come together! Follow her on Twitter here!

What about you?

What does summer taste like for you? Let us know and be sure to use #MomsCheckIn on social media with your answers!

One thing you need to know about Hoosiers is that we love sports. We are obsessed with our beloved Colts, adore the Indianapolis Indians, love our Pacers, have serious crushes on college basketball teams and we are home to the fantastic Indy 500.

Want to know what we love just as much as sports? Getting together for a party. Seriously. ANY REASON. And if there is not a reason…we generally make one up.

This Super Easy, Cheesy Chili Dip is a quick recipe made with just 3 ingredients that is always a popular one! And when I say that it is super easy, I mean this couldn’t get easier. Seriously!

Add your cheese inside. Pile on your can of Hormel Chili. (You can use with or without beans, whatever is your preference.)

Add the top of the bread back on top. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 375 until cheese has melted.

Enjoy!

3.3.3070

So the next time you are going all Hoosier and having a get together…you really need to make this Easy Cheesy Chili Dip! I promise, you won’t ever need another recipe!

HORMEL® Chiliis America’s #1 chili. With so many varieties, Hormel Foods has a chili for everyone. Whether it’s a chili dog, chili cheese dip or your traditional chili in the bowl, HORMEL® Chili can be enjoyed year-round. HORMEL® Chili helps chili lovers savor traditions – all seasons, all occasions – by bringing together good foods and good times.

HORMEL® Chili shared over 50 regional ways to enjoy chili on their website and Facebook page to show fans Chili Nation, a nation that has declared their love for all things chili! Visit the HORMEL® Chili website for a sampling of recipes and chili pairings from every state, it also features videos, quizzes, and a coupon offering.

Confession. Fall is my favoritetime of year. Hands down. I love the weather changing into nice in the day and perfect for hoodies in the evening. I love the bonfires (and s’mores!) that happen. Here in Indiana, fall is easily the prettiest season. The trees turn gorgeous shades of orange, red and yellow.

But it’s also time for apples. And pumpkin. And man do I love those! So consider this your warning. Expect lots of apple and pumpkin recipes to come! :)

Last year, I found a recipe that I really wanted to try out from Crazy For Crust. Of course, I had to put my own spin on it. I added one ESSENTIAL ingredient – pumpkin! And the result is pure amazing-ness. These are so good. I don’t dare have them for breakfast! This is for sure a delicious dessert! (Ok. Maybe I had a small leftover one for breakfast this morning…)

And the caramel frosting? YUM.

The best part? These are SO simple to make and they don’t take much time! You won’t ever want a regular cinnamon roll again!

Now you could stop with just the cinnamon rolls. Maybe add a dollop of vanilla ice cream? And you will be happy. It will be delicious. BUT. Take the 5 minutes and make the frosting. It will blow your mind! You can do it! Go for the full experience! :)

School is back in swing here. Josh is now in middle school which means at lunch he can choose what he wants (regular lunch or a la cart). I’ve realized that lunch is getting expensive and that healthy choices aren’t really a priority for 11 year olds. In fact the other day he got 2 PB&J’s, chicken nuggets, french fries and a cookie. Although he did say “But Mom, I only got one milk.”

So I’ve managed to talk him into bringing his lunch to school. He wasn’t too happy with that idea at first. But all it took was me telling him I would make a batch of Cinnamon Sugar Chips for him to change his mind. Seriously, these things are SO good. And they are a cinch to make!

In fact, these are so simple, they only require 4 ingredients!

I like to use Azteca’s new preservative free flour free tortillas! You can find them at Kroger in the refrigerated section! (Ours is near the cheese!) They come in different sizes too – burrito, fajita, taco and new mini size too! There is no high fructose corn syrup, no artificial colors, or flavors. Which means, I am a happy mom! :)

Now, while these cinnamon sugar chips are fantastic on their own, our favorite way to eat them is Apple Nacho style!

I used Granny Smith apples for our nachos! The tart of the apple with the sweetness of the chips is the perfect mix!

You can eat this dish warmed up or cold – either way is good! Which is awesome because that means you can pack some apple mix in the kiddo’s lunch box!

To make the apple mix simply chop up an apple (approximately 2 cups) and put in a heat resistant bowl. Add 1 tbsp lemon juice and 3 tbsp brown sugar. Heat on high until the apples are boiling. Add 1 tsp cornstarch to thicken and allow to cool completely. That’s it! EASY PEASY.

And guess what? Not only did you stumble on these delicious recipes, but it’s an AWESOME giveaway as well!!

Quinoa has been declared as one of the healthiest foods. It provides all 9 amino acids making it a complete protein. It’s a gluten free and cholesterol free whole grain. It’s also a great anti-inflammatory! If you’ve seen Quinoa, but you weren’t sure what to do with it then here is a list of Quinoa recipes to get you started! Even if you have had Quinoa in the past then these are some fun, new ways to eat this super healthy food!

Pizza Bagels are something my son requests from the store EVERY TIME. Which is odd because I don’t think I’ve ever bought them before! So the last time I was at the store and Josh was asking for pizza bagels I thought, sure, we can make some! DUH! I’m not sure what took us so long! It was a great idea! Not only are pizza bagels kid friendly, but they are great for quick lunches (or a dinner!), Josh ate them in his lunch box, they froze well and very budget friendly! So here is our pizza bagels recipe!

Place the bagels on a baking sheet and cook in the oven for 5-7 minutes at 350 degrees. You are essentially just warming the bagels up during this step.

Spread the sauce on the bagels and top however you would like.

The kids had a lot of fun making their own pizzas! Bake in the oven for another 5-10 minutes, until the cheese melted.

Enjoy!

To freeze: I let the bagels cool completely on the baking sheet. Once it was completely cool I put the baking sheet in the freezer until the bagels were frozen. Then I just put the bagels in a freezer bag and laid them flat in our freezer. I’m pleased with they way they have froze, so now Josh can warm up his own after school snack in the toaster oven!